Fiscal Rules Dataset

1985 - 2014

IMF Fiscal Affairs DepartmentMay, 2015

What are Fiscal Rules? A fiscal rule imposes a long-lasting constraint on fiscal policy through numerical limits on budgetary aggregates.

About this Dataset: The dataset covers four types of rules: budget balance rules (BBR), debt rules (DR), expenditure rules (ER), and revenue rules (RR). It also presents details on various characteristics of rules, such as their legal basis, coverage, escape clauses, as well as enforcement procedures, and takes stock of key supporting features that are in place, including independent monitoring bodies and fiscal responsibility laws.